Cathedral bounces back vs. Mira Mesa

Dons erase memory of last week's loss to archrival St. Augustine.

It didn’t take Cathedral Catholic long to erase the memory of last week’s disappointing loss to archrival St. Augustine.

The eighth-ranked Dons scored on their opening two possessions Friday and cruised to a 42-14 victory over Mira Mesa on Senior Night.

“We knew we didn’t play well last week,” Cathedral Catholic coach Sean Doyle said. “I give the Saints credit, but we didn’t put our best foot forward. We wanted to put our best foot forward today, and that’s what we did.”

Chris Moliga rushed for a game-high 220 yards and two touchdowns to power the Dons (7-2, 3-1 Eastern League) while Drew Cowell added a pair of rushing TDs.

Moliga insisted that the team wasn’t thinking about last Friday’s 19-7 setback to St. Augustine.

“We were just trying to play our game that we always play,” he said. “It was the last home game for the seniors, and we wanted to get the win.”

The Dons’ defense was suffocating, limiting the Marauders (4-5, 1-2) to 50 total yards and two first downs in the opening half.

Mira Mesa did not cross midfield until the third quarter.

“I liked the intensity of our defense,” Doyle said. “We had a lot of guys go to the football, and the kids were playing with an intensity I haven’t seen in a few weeks.”